


Growing Up Means Changing

by uofmdragon



Series: Tumblr Prompts - AUs by the Numbers [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Audiologist, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-07-22 06:20:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7423435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uofmdragon/pseuds/uofmdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil attends his 20th High School Reunion and runs into his old bully, Clint Barton.  Clint Barton is working at Phil's university and decides to look up Phil and make amends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperdollkisses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperdollkisses/gifts).



> Prompt: meeting again at a high school reunion au

Phil arrives late to his High School reunion, thanks to a malfunctioning radar on his flight, having to sit on the tarmac for almost an hour once they landed, and then Budget rental losing his rental information. He manages to get checked into the hotel and cleaned up, before going downstairs. No one is outside of the ballroom, but Phil is able to grab his name tag and slip inside.

He’s greeted with noise of almost a hundred different people talking and music on top of that. Phil makes a circuit, saying hello to Nick and Maria. High School rivals turned sweethearts during the summer before college. Apparently when they weren’t competing against one another they had a lot in common. (As the guy that often had to act as a buffer, Phil was unsurprised). 

He caught up on the latest gossip that John and his adopted son, Grant had been arrested from Melinda. Felix was there in a wheel chair two leg casts on, which now featured unicorns and rainbows courtesy of Felix’s children. He caught sight of Natasha Romanov and was surprised to find that she was on the arm of a dark haired man. They were in a deep conversation with Sharon Carter, so Phil decided to leave them be.

He ate grabbed some hors d’oeuvre and ate them while catching up with Victoria and her wife. He hadn’t been able to make it to their fifteenth reunion, so there was plenty to catch up with everyone.

After a while, Phil slipped out of the ballroom to the small garden that was attached on one side. It was considerably cooler and quieter out here. He breathed a sigh of relief, taking a moment to enjoy just being alone. 

Laughter broke him out of moment of quiet and he glanced around, before noting that one of the tables was occupied. He didn’t want to intrude, but there were still some people he hadn’t seen and he couldn’t make them out. Phil drifted closer and realized he couldn’t recognize either person.

“Hey,” the fellow facing him said. "Looking for some quiet?“

"Yeah,” Phil agreed, taking a few more steps. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you.”

“You shouldn’t, I didn’t graduate with you. James Barnes,” the man held out his hand.

“Phil Coulson.”

“Coulson?” the third man said and there was a familiar tone to it.

Phil turned and found himself looking down into Clint Barton’s face. It looked like Barton’s nose had been between now and high school graduation. (Clint had missed their first reunion, which was actually the tenth). ”Barton.” Phil racked his brain for a reason to back down.

“Take a seat,” Barton said, pushing a chair out with his foot. "How’s life?“

Phil blinked, he was surprised to find a much friendlier Barton than he remembered. ”Um, good?”

"Yeah, what are you doing now?”

“I’m a professor at the University.”

Clint grinned at him. ”History?”

Phil nodded, readying himself for the jokes.

“That’s awesome. We should get drinks sometime.”

“We should?”

“Yeah, I just got hired at the U’s hospital. I get to go home and move,” Clint made a face.

“I thought you went into the military. What are you doing at a hospital?”

“I was, but I got discharged and I kind of stumbled into audiology, so…”

“He’s great with kids,” James stated. “Especially Francis.”

“Francis?”

“My kid,” Clint replied. "He’s a little snot, but I’m sure you’d say he’s exactly like me.“ Clint made a vaguely horrified face.

"Natasha certainly has.” James added.

Phil grinned. ”So where is he?”

“With his mom. He’s going to let me move and then come out for a visit once I have a place set up.”

Phil nodded. 

“So what about you? Find the love of your life? Have kids? A dog?”

“Um, I’ve dated, had a couple long term relationships that haven’t really gone anywhere. No kids, no pets.”

“Really?” Clint asked, smiling at him.

Phil nodded, but Clint didn’t seem prepared to tease him about any of it. Clint was actually a pleasure to talk to, even more so when Natasha joined them. Others came and went as well, but none seemed inclined to actually sit. Phil didn’t realize what time it was until Clint yawned and declared he was off to bed. Natasha and Bucky followed suit and Phil slipped back inside to find that the party was already winding down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one asked for a sequel, except for me!

Phil was sitting on his desk looking over one of his grad student’s outlines, when he heard the voices headed down the hall. It wasn’t too unusual and he could recognize Steve’s usual cadence and laughter. He smiled and went back to work. He had to take advantage of when Sam was in class, because Steve and Sam could be very distracting, especially since the Air Force and Navy football game was only a couple weeks away. Those two got along like two peas in a pod, except when it came to the armed forces.

“Hey,” Steve said, rapping lightly on Phil’s door. "Found someone that was looking for you.“

Phil looked back up and found Steve in the doorway and just behind him was Clint Barton. Phil blinked, and yep, Barton was still there, smiling at him. That was a surprise. Clint had said he wanted to do something at the reunion, but they hadn’t made definite plans or even exchanged emails or phone numbers. 

"Hey Phil,” Clint said, slipping by Steve.

“Clint.”

“Sorry, things got kind of crazy at the reunion and I never did get your number, so I thought I’d swing by the history department, see if I could find you.”

“Well, you found me.”

“I did. I wanted to offer you lunch. Your choice, since you know the better places, my treat though.”

Phil blinked. “I have work.”

“You can take a break for lunch, Phil, you don’t have class until 3 and I know your ready for that,” Steve said.

Phil glanced at him, because he wasn’t helping. 

“C'mon Phil. I know you’ve got the best places to eat tucked away. I’m willing to buy.”

“I don’t see why. We aren’t… friends.”

Clint’s smile didn’t waver. "And maybe I’m trying to change that.“

"Why?”

Clint’s smile fell and he nodded. "I suppose I deserve that question. I was a horrible back in High School. I’m sorry about that and if you want you can consider this an apology lunch.“

"I still don’t see why you’re doing this.”

“I went through some shit and I had a lot of time to reflect. How I treated you was one of the mistakes I made, and I’d like to make it up to you. If you’d I not bother you, I can do that too. It’s up to you.”

“I’d rather not.”

Clint nodded. "Right.“ He turned to face Steve. "Saturday, 8 am, at the park’s east entrance.” The conversation fell by the wayside as Phil caught sight of the purple tucked behind Clint’s ear. He could just barely make out the small tubing that lead directly to Clint’s ear canal. That was new…

Clint must have felt his gaze, because he glanced back at him and caught him staring. Clint grinned, deprecatingly. "Word of advice, if you like being able to hear, use protection when you know you’re going to be around loud noises.“

"I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that you’d lost your hearing.”

“Well, it was dark when we were talking.”

“It was,” Phil agreed.

“I guess, I’ll see you at the next reunion or maybe on campus,” Clint said, moving to step away. 

Phil would have watched him go, but Steve stepped into Phil’s doorway. Steve’s head was angled, so that he could see Clint leave. Eventually, Steve looked at him. "That was cold, Phil.“

"I didn’t know he was…”

“I wasn’t talking about that!” Steve stated. "And don’t go changing your mind because you feel sorry for him.“

"I didn’t know you knew Clint.”

Steve shrugged. “My best friend is dating his best friend." 

"Wait, Bucky is dating Natasha? I met Bucky?”

“Did you meet James? Because if you did, you met Bucky.”

“Huh. I guess, it’s a small world.”

“Don’t you start,” Steve warned. "Clint was already humming that song. He was trying to get it stuck in my head, I know he was.“

Phil smiled, before going back to his work.

"Hey, you should come over on Saturday. It’s supposed to be nice, we can barbecue, avoid the stadium, and everything around it.”

Phil nodded. "Sounds nice.“

"Great, I’ll see you then.”

It wasn’t until after Steve left that Phil thought that he probably should have asked Steve if Clint was coming.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paperdollkiss requested the third of this verse.

Phil was surprised that he didn’t see Clint at all following their conversation. Clint didn’t show up to the barbecue and Phil hadn’t seen at all on campus. Clint was at the hospital though and Phil didn’t see many hospital personnel. 

That lasted until his cousin, Mary, called to see if he would go with her to the hospital. Apparently, her daughter had called a hearing screening and she’d been referred to see an audiologist at the university hospital. Phil agreed, because how could he say no to that request.

Phil hoped that the audiologist in question wasn’t Barton and he for a moment he thought he’d lucked when a dark haired young woman stepped out from the back. However, Clint was directly behind her.

“Ms. Jones?” Clint said, approaching them.

“Yes,” Mary said, standing up to shake Clint’s offered hand.

“Hello, I’m Clint Barton and this is my graduate student, Kate Bishop,” Clint said, indicating the young woman.

Mary shook Kate’s hand as well. "This is my cousin, Phil.“

"Professor Coulson,” Kate said, offering him her hand. "I had you for American History a few years ago.“

"Ah, I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you.”

“It’s okay that class was really huge.”

“Entry level classes tend to be.”

Phil turned his attention to Clint. "Mr. Barton.“

"Doctor, actually, but how about you two just call me Clint." 

Phil blinked in surprise, because he hadn’t realized that Clint had a doctorate. "Sure.”

Clint squatted down in front of Jenna. "And you must be Jenna. Hello.“

"Hi,” Jenna said.

“So how does this work, are you just going to take my daughter and test her?” Mary asked Kate.

“Oh, you’re more than welcome to come back with us. Both of you are. Dr. Barton is a big believer in having the parents involved or parent and uncle in this case.”

Clint stood, smiling at both of them. “How about we talk a bit first, Ms. Jones.”

“Please,” Ms. Jones stated.

“Come on back, we’ll talk a bit first.”

Clint led them to what Phil thought looked like a second waiting room. There were chairs and couches and even a play area. Clint gestured them for them to sit down. Clint took a seat across from them, while Kate took Jenna to the play area.

“So, Ms. Jones, Professor Coulson, what brings you in today?” Clint asked.

“They think there’s something wrong with my daughter’s hearing,” Mary stated.

“Whose they?”

“The people that did some sort of evaluation on my daughter.”

“Was that the preschool screening?”

Mary hesitated and then nodded. "Yes, and I know I signed off on it, but…“

"But?”

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with her.”

“Well, there may not be. It’s a screener, which means Jenna’s hearing might be fine. It could also mean that there is a problem. Tell me what you’ve seen at home.”

Mary launched into all the reasons why she thought Jenna’s hearing was fine. She turned to look at Mary. She startled at loud noises. She’d passed her infant hearing screening. Clint mostly listened, asking for clarification here and there. Eventually Kate came over and joined them. The two of them asked questions together seamlessly. 

After the interview, they went into the tests. Kate doing most of the work while Clint watched and encouraged Mary to go and look over Kate’s shoulder. Kate explained what was being shown and ultimately it was Mary that stated, “That line is too low, that means she has a hearing loss.”

Kate and Clint nodded, talking with Mary a bit more. 

“This is what I’d like to do Mary,” Clint stated. "I’d like to make another appointment in a week, where we can just talk.“

"Just talk?” Mary asked. "Its not going to change things.“

"No, it isn’t” Clint agreed.

“Mary,” Phil interrupted. "I’m just her uncle and I need time to process this. I think that’s what Clint is trying to give you, some time.“

Mary glanced between them, before nodding.

Clint reached into his desk and pulled out a sparkly purple notebook. "Until that appointment, I want you to write down any questions you have for me. Big, small. Whatever questions you have, write them down and we’ll go through the whole list and then we’ll talk about your options.”

“This doesn’t seem very professional.” Mary said, taking the notebook.

“Kate picked them out.”

“Yeah, but you picked out the purple processor,” Kate pointed out.

Clint grinned. "Well some people can’t see very good, I happen to not hear very well. No shame in that.“

"Do I need to do anything different with my daughter?” Mary asked.

“Just make sure you have your attention, okay?”

Mary nodded. Clint and Kate escorted them back to the waiting room where they scheduled an appointment and said their good-byes.

At the elevator bank, Mary turned to look at him. "Phil, I know we talked about going out to lunch, but…“

"You really don’t want to now?” Phil ssurmised

Mary nodded. “Maybe next week.”

“Of course,” Phil said. "I should put that in my…“ He patted his pockets for his phone and realized it wasn’t there. "I don’t have my phone.”

“You had it earlier.”

“I must have left it in Clint’s office.”

“Do you want me to wait?”

“Go ahead and go, it’s a short walk and it’s a nice day, I should take advantage of it.” Phil hugged Mary and they said their good-byes, before Phil turned to head back to Clint’s office.

He met Clint on the way back. "Hey, you forgot this.“

"I was just coming to get it,” Phil said, taking the phone. "Would have been lost. Thank you.“

Clint smiled. "Your welcome. You going to be okay?”

“I think so. It’ll be an adjustment,” Phil said, nodding his head.

“It can be tough for everyone.”

“Should I look into sign language?” Phil asked.

Clint shrugged. "That’ll be up to Mary. It’s an option.“

"Do you sign?”

“Some, I think Natasha’s actually better at it than me.”

Phil smiled at that. "More dedicated?“

"I went through a fairly large ‘Oh woe is me’ phase and during that time Natasha was learning.”

“Because of the hearing loss?”

“Hearing loss caused me to be discharged from the military and the divorce papers caught up to me about the same time.”

Phil winced "Did she know about the, uh…“

"Hearing loss? You can say it, Phil, not going to offend me. She filed them before I lost them. They were just routed to different bases and tended to arrive just after I’d left. When she found out, she was willing to try again, but that kind of blew up in our faces.”

“Oh.” Phil nodded, remembering Steve’s warning. Phil glanced away. "Yeah, Steve said something to that effect actually.“

"What do you mean?”

“That I shouldn’t change my mind, because of your hearing loss.”

Clint blinked. “You were thinking about it?”

“I kind of felt like a jackass for doing that to you, because you’re…”

“Yeah, that’s kind of ableist talk. I’m still a person. I could still be the same idiot from High School.”

“You aren’t though,” Phil said, firmly. "That guy wouldn’t have been so patient with Mary and Jenna. I also don’t think he’d have so much purple.“

Clint grinned, pitching his voice lower. "Honestly…”

“Honestly?” Phil asked, leaning in.

“I always liked the color.”

“Even in High School?”

“Especially in high school.” Clint’s eyes twinkled with amusement and Phil was struck with the desire to kiss him.

“So I know, I’m not allowed to change my mind because of the hearing loss. Can I change it because you were all sorts of adorable with Jenna? And that you actually did what I requested for once?”

“Yeah, I think I can let you do that.”

“Mary cancelled on me. You free for lunch?” Phil asked.

“You paying?”

“I suppose I could, but not I’m taking you to one of my secret spots.”

“Oh, do I have to ask nicely for that?”

“And be willing to pay.”

“What did I just walk in on?” Kate’s voice cut through.

Phil jumped in surprise and realized that he’d drifted even closer to Clint. "Um…“

Kate looked between him. "You know what, I don’t want to know.”

“Everything cleaned up, Ms. Bishop?” Clint asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to go eat, before our next appointment. Try not to be late.”

“That would be unprofessional.”

Kate glared, before turning and leaving.

Clint grinned. "She’s going to be an awesome audiologist pretty soon.“ He looked back at Phil. "Alright, let me go grab my stuff.”

“Sure,” Phil agreed.

Clint walked back into the office and it wasn’t too long, before he came back out. He smiled at Phil. 

“Did we settle whose paying?” Phil asked.

“I tend to operate on whoever does the asking, does the paying,” Clint replied. "Unless, this isn’t a lunch date?“ He arched an eyebrow.

"How about a pre-date to see how it goes?”

Clint nodded. “Works for me, but if this goes into relationship territory. You have to explain to Mary why I’m transferring her to another audiologist.”

“Clint, I would not be surprised if one of her questions for you included: are you interested in men? If so, can I give your number to Phil? or Will you go out with my cousin, Phil?”

Clint looked at him. “Seriously?”

Phil nodded as he pressed the down button, because Mary was endlessly trying to set him up.

Clint huffed a little, trying to hold back his laughter. By the time the elevator arrived, it was full blown laughter. Phil smiled, because Clint’s laughter was kind irresistible.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Started by me, because I was thinking of making this into something longer.

Phil doesn’t realize just how fucked he is until a few months after their pre-date. It strikes him him on a Friday evening when he was on the phone, making plans for his “spring break.” His plans include going to Nick’s where it is slightly warmer, but only slightly. Clint trudges out from his shower and just flops onto the couch and partially on Phil. They’d had plans to go out, but Clint had shown up still in his work clothes, and asked if they could just stay in. Phil had nodded, ushered him into the shower, and had been debating delivery when Nick had called.

Phil doesn’t hesitate to slide his fingers into Clint’s hair, earning him a happy sigh as Clint shifts a little closer. He tries to be subtle as lets his fingers drift to one side of Clint’s head and the next, but Clint still lets an amused snort. Clearly, Phil still fails at the subtle check for Clint’s hearing aids. He goes back to rubbing a moment.

“Phil! Are you even listening to me?!” Nick snaps.

Phil jumps, causing Clint to glance up with a curious expression.

“It’s fine,” Phil said automatically. 

Clint pointed at the phone.

“Nick.”

“What?” Nick asked.

Phil sighs, because Clint missed it and pulls his hand off to cover his eye left eye and repeats Nick. That works and Clint resettles.

“Sorry, Clint just got out of the shower,” Phil stated. 

“Clint?” Nick repeated. "Are you seeing someone?“

The questions throws him momentarily. Clint and him have been on several dates in the past couple of months and been out with other friends. He’s had more meals at the hospital than in his own staff room recently. He’s been woken up by a bed shaker just as often as his own alarm, possibly more often, because Clint Barton is not a morning person. "Yes.”

“Is it serious?”

Phil hadn’t bothered to unhook the bed shaker to his own alarm this week. Phil knows how Clint takes his coffee and how meticulous Clint is with his hearing aids. Phil knows what battery they take, and how to clean them. He knows that Clint loves to be touched and where. He knows that Clint will probably want pizza tonight, because pizza is Clint’s comfort food. Most importantly, Phil has met Francis, Clint’s son. Francis who did remind him of a younger Clint, but not quite as rough around the edges. (Privately, Phil thought that Francis was who Clint would have been if his parents had actually cared about him and lived, rather than not cared and sent him into the system.) 

When he looks to the future, he can see himself at the house Clint is having remodeled. He can see the future fights about painting the walls purple with Clint and the walls black with Francis. He can see them adopting a dog or two and Phil having to be the reasonable one and limiting how many. There’ll be no point in keeping the dogs out of the bed, because Clint is a sucker for sad puppy eyes. Phil finds himself looking forward to those discussions.

“Yeah, actually it is at least for me.”

“Are you telling him this for the first time while we’re talking?”

“No,” Phil said, because he’s fairly that Clint is paying attention and his hearing isn’t good enough that he’ll pick up on the actual words. Phil should probably feel guilty about it, but he’s also sure that Clint heard Phil say his name a bit ago.

“Wasn’t he right there?”

“He’s giving me some privacy,” Phil lies.

“So, who is this guy? I mean, I honestly can’t picture with a Clint, not after Barton…”

Phil hesitated. "Actually…“

"Phil, tell me, you aren’t dating Barton?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Phil said. "He’s changed a lot since high school.“

Phil winced at the stream of cursing in the background. Nick had never liked Barton, because of how he’d treated Phil during High School. It had apparently extended. "Well, then he shouldn’t have a problem coming up with you.”

“Nick…”

“No, let’s see how much he’s changed.”

“I don’t know if he can get off. He does have a job.”

“Well, then maybe he’s not as invested in this relationship as you think he is,” Nick replied, before ending the call.

Phil rolled his eyes and glanced down at Clint, whose breathing has slower. Not quite a sleep, but getting there. He reached down and gently poked Clint’s side.

Clint grumbled, but turned to look at him.

Phil selected the app that had a list of food places that delivered nearby and handed it to Clint. It didn’t take Clint long to make his selection and hand it back to Phil. Phil smiled, pizza, with meat lover’s at the very top. He hit the call button and ordered it, before tossing the phone away. He gently guided Clint’s face up and kissed him softly, before kissing Clint’s forehead.

Later, he’d go and get Clint’s hearing aids, so they could actually talk. For now, Phil would just enjoy the moment of quiet. Before he asked Clint, if he’d come to Nick’s and someone figure out how to confess his feelings.


End file.
